


the Star i'll never get

by sayonee



Category: La casa de papel | Money Heist (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, College, Drama & Romance, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff and Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Slow Burn, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-16 07:00:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 18,589
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28577895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sayonee/pseuds/sayonee
Summary: Raquel and Sergio turn out to be college friends and overtime turn into best friends later on since both share a tragic history of unfortunate events that bind them closer to each other. But can you be that close to a person without falling in love? Are they able chatch each other while falling apart?
Relationships: Raquel Murillo/Professor | Sergio Marquina
Comments: 7
Kudos: 43





	1. Welcome College!

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone :)  
> We are two friends in a deep serquel depression who wanted to write their very first ff. A big thank you to Tally for helping us with the first chapter. And a special thank to Ida and Scarabelle. We hope you like our story <3

There it was. Her heart was beating like crazy. After weeks of waiting, it was finally on the kitchen table by the other post office. The feedback from the College she had applied to ages ago. It was not just any College. It was the College. The College she had always dreamed of. She took the letter and a deep breath. Inside, she prayed to all the different gods that existed. To everything and everyone, in the hope that she would be able to turn a possible rejection into a commitment. If her last meal hadn‘t been 2h ago, she would have thrown up in fear. The time passed for her like in slow motion. And she hated it. She would so much like to speed up the time. Her thumb was already on the tape to open the letter until she hesitated and wanted to open it together with her mother and sister. She looked at the clock. 3.23pm. At 4pm Laura would come home from training. At 3.45pm her mother has a doctor‘s appointment. She wouldn‘t be home before 4.30pm. And so Raquel decided to wait for her sister.

She put the letter back on the table and tried to distract herself. She did everything to hold out for another 40 minutes. For a moment she thought about eating something but only the thought turned her stomach. It felt like half an eternity until she looked at the clock again. It was only 3.32pm. How in the world could she stand another half hour?

She bit her lip and thought about whether she should open the letter after all. Her nervousness increased with every millisecond. Her nails were already all chewed off but she decided to continue waiting. She wanted someone at her side. Someone to hug her in case she was not accepted. Or someone to share her happiness if she did get accepted. She took another close look at the letter and studied it down to the last detail. How heavy it was. How thick it was. How many pages might be in it. And she couldn‘t estimate any of that. She personally thought that the letter looked rather thick. That must be a good sign right? She thought A College is not gonna write five pages about being rejected. But this was her very first College letter. She had no comparison. Sure, she had applied to other colleges too, to be on the safe side, but these were all just makeshift solutions. She wanted so much to go to this college. More than anything else.

Ever since she was 15 years old, she dreamed of becoming an interior designer. To be independent. To not have a boss above her. She wanted to rise above herself, show people what she can do and not be bossed around by some old man who has erectile dysfunction and a bad marriage. And yet more than she thought about her dreams, the more she wanted to have this commitment. 

Her gaze fell back on the clock. Only 5 minutes. Only 5 minutes have passed away since she last looked at the watch. But as if someone had heard her request to bring her out of the trance, her phone rang. She accepted the call and was greeted by a shrill voice.

“RAQUEEL! I HAVE BEEN ACCEPTED! I HAVE BEEN ACCEPTED!!!“ rejoiced the blond on the other side.

In shock, Raquel almost dropped her phone.

“Oh my god! I‘m so happy for you, but don‘t scare me like that, Mon!“

“I’m sorry, but i‘m so happy!“

“Congrats! I‘m so happy for you!“

“Thanks, have you got a response yet?“

Raquel looked at the still sealed letter on the kitchen table.

“Yes, but i didn‘t dare open it yet“

“Come on Raquel, do it! I‘m here!“

“Are you sure? I‘m so excited. But what if I‘m not accepted? I want this so bad, Mon.“

“Come on, Raquel. Do it. I‘m with you. You can do this. You‘ll get it. You‘re so smart, I can‘t imagine they want me, but not you.“

Raquel took a deep breath in and out. Picked up the letter in her hand and slowly tore it open. As she already thought, there were a few more pieces of paper in the envelope and with trembling hands she began to read the letter. 

Dear Ms. Raquel Murillo,

Congratulations on your acceptance to the Faculty of Architecture!

We are very pleased to welcome you to our College and to be able to offer you a place in the study program Interior Design as well as Interior Architecture.

In the envelope you will find a second application form, which must be handed in to our office by 30th of April.

You will find further information in the enclosed information material and the soon following letters after you have handed in your application.

Congratulations 

With kind regards 

Faculty of Architecture Madrid

“Monica...“

“What? Are you in?“

“I did it...“

Raquel couldn‘t believe her eyes. She dropped onto the kitchen chair and it felt like time stood for one, albeit brief, moment. She really did it. She can go to her dream college. All her effort and hard work had finally paid off.

“OH MY GOD YOU ARE IN IT TOO! WE DID IT! RAQUEL WE WILL STUDY TOGETHER!“ she yelled through the phone.

“We‘ll study together, we really did it!“

Slowly Raquel felt all the tension and nervousness in her face loosening and turning into joy. With a jerk she stood up and started to squeal. Monica could see her smile through the phone and both of them ran and jumped through their house like little children. When Raquel heard the door open, she realized how quickly time passed.

“Laura! Laura! I was accepted!“ she jumped around her sister‘s neck.

Her sister, who did not quite understand what had just happened, needed a moment.  
“Wait, what? Let me arrive first.“ she laughed as her sister separated from her again.

“I was accepted. At the College. I did it!“

“Congratulations! I knew you could do it!“

The two sisters hugged each other and Raquel could still feel the relief in her bones.

After she had physically regained her composure and was finally able to eat something, her mother came home.

“Mom! Mom, I was accepted“ she ran towards her with the letter and a bright smile. 

A little confused but smiling, her mother took her face between her hands and kissed her cheeks.

“Oh, I‘m so happy for you! But what was the name of the college again?“

Raquel paused briefly. Her mother‘s question completely threw her out of her game and slowly her smile faded. There wasn‘t a day when Raquel didn‘t talk about College. There wasn‘t a day when she didn‘t look in the mailbox 3 times a day and went back into the house disappointed when no letter had arrived. A few years ago, she suddenly noticed how her mother was changing more and more. She became more unreliable, more stressed and was often irritable. At first, the change was not really noticeable. Raquel had no idea when it really started, but from year to year it became more and more.. She always told herself that it was the stress, that it was normal to forget things sometimes.

“Faculty of Architecture Madrid.“

“Oh year, right. I am so proud of you!“

Her mother smiled at her again and hugged her.

“Then I‘ll make Paella for dinner. We must celebrate!“

“Raquel picked up a smile and nodded enthusiastically. Although she was still very happy about the commitment, she was worried about her mother.

“How was it at the doctor‘s?“ she asked anxiously.

“Oh, the usual. But that‘s not important now. We have to celebrate your commitment now!“

“Monica was accepted too“ Raquel interjected and tried to force an honest smile on herself.

“Then she can come over and eat with us if she wants.“ She lovingly stroked Raquel‘s cheek.

“Did you hear Mon? You can come over for dinner if you want“

“And how I shall come. I still can‘t believe we‘re going to College together!“

Monica cried out excitedly again, but unlike her, Raquel had become rather calmer and gradually fell silent, lost in her thoughts.

—————————————————

She counted every day. Every single day. And every day she crossed out in the calendar, she‘s looking forward more and more to studying with her best friend. The two registered together for a room in a dormitory at the College and hoped to live together. They already planned everything together what they wanted to do in their room. Monica even packed the old, but still usable microwave with grill function to be prepared for everything. Although there was a kettle and 2 hotplates in their apartment, a microwave never hurts, they thought. Raquel spent so much money in these months just to be perfectly prepared. Well, maybe she got a little carried away here and there in her shopping frenzy, but it was definitely stuff she needed. Like a second suitcase, for example, since her first one was already packed to the brim in the hallway at home, ready to go.

And then, one month two weeks and eleven days later, she could finally pick up the handle of this suitcase and push it out the door.

“Raquel, I know you want to be prepared, but aren‘t these a bit too many things? After all, you‘re not moving to a desert island, just to the other side of Madrid. You‘ll be back here in 1-2h if you take the train.“ Laura complained as she walked to the car fully loaded with Raquel‘s last bags and tried to squeeze into the tiny trunk.

“I know, but I don‘t wanna commute back and forth just because I need one thing. Monica and I have already made a firm plan of what we‘re going to need, how and why.“

“You say that now and then I‘ll come visit you and everything will be messy because you have no more room in your closets.“

Raquel playfully rolled her eyes and got into the passenger seat. Her mother sat behind the wheel, but showed no reaction.

“Mom, do you have the car keys?“

Confused, Mariví gropes her way through the car looking for the keys.

“I think I left them on the kitchen table.“

“It‘s okay Mom, I‘ll get them.“ she got out of the car “Should I drive? I mean I have to remember the way, right?“

“Don‘t worry, I‘ll drive. This will be the last time I drive you to school. I don‘t wanna miss it.“

Raquel just nodded and hurried back to the house, looking in vain for the car keys. As Raquel already suspected, they were not on the kitchen table. Instead, it was up to her that her mother started writing notes on a red and yellow notepad.

Raquel goes to the College of Architecture in Madrid

Doctor‘s appointment on 24th October at 3.45pm.

My Pin is 5498

She looked up, took a deep breath and tried not to worry. She tried to find a plausible explanation. One in which her mother wasn‘t sick. One in which her mother had just too much stress. She convulsively tried to find a solution. A solution that would not let her built up scaffolding collapse. A scaffolding that she had built up over the years. And yet she knew, deep inside, that it would collapse. That she had to take care of her mother despite her studies. She had to help her.

She knew that her mother would not get better now. That this point in life had been reached, where she had to take responsibility. A responsibility she did not yet feel ready for. She picked up a red slip of paper and knew in that moment that her life would change sooner or later. That it was only a matter of time. And she also knew that she was on her own. Of course Laura would help somehow, but she was not organized. Laura lacked perspective. To keep a cool head when things get stressful. She simply lacked the discipline to finish what she had started. And that was exactly the point where Raquel had to take responsibility not only for her mother, but also for her sister.

“Raquel, dear, I found the keys in my bag“ cried an older but familiar voice into the house.

She put the note away, rubbed her eyes and took another deep breath in and out.

“Okay, good.“ she finally called back, closed the door behind her and got in the car.

  
After about 45 minutes of driving with heavy traffic, the car stopped in front of a white majestic building. It was surrounded by a tall black but elegant fence, which was opened at the entrance by three large gates with ornate decorations. At the sides were thin black lanterns, which made the entrance look even more noble. The path led to a small light grey staircase, which ended under a small canopy and was supported by white-ornamented columns. Under this canopy were a few dark wooden benches on which a few people sat. They laughed, learned or just looked around.

When Raquel stood in front of the large doors under the inscription “College of Architecture Madrid“, she felt like in a typical High School-Movie. Her heart was beating like crazy and she couldn‘t be more excited. At night she dreamt of standing in front of these doors and finally the day had come when she picked up the doorknob, turned it and pressed her tiny body against it with all her strength. The artificial light blinded her eyes and the smell of old books penetrated her nose. A dark brown tile spread out beneath her feet and the heavy door fell back behind her into the lock. The sound echoed through the high rooms for a few more seconds and finally disappeared in a long side corridor. Raquel knew that the College was big, but now she felt smaller than ever before in her life. On the white walls hung some paintings of buildings. Among them was the Bank of Spain.

Slowly she walked down the corridor and looked at everything carefully. Every plant, every picture, every detail, no matter how small. She wanted to try to realize that she was finally at the College she had always dreamed of as a younger girl. She only noticed the squeaking of her shoes on the tiles when her gaze wandered to the sign “Secretariat“. Nervously she took a deep breath and collected her thoughts once more.

“Yes, please?“ resounded a bright and friendly voice behind the door, after Raquel knocked with trembling hands.

She entered a long and bright room, which was furnished with light-colored wooden furniture and separated by panes of glass, so that several people could enter at the same time. She paused for a moment, oriented herself and finally saw a small blonde woman looking up behind the counter, smiling warmly at her.

“Hello, I‘m Raquel Murillo. I am a student here as of today.“

“Oh, yeah. Hello Ms. Murillo. I‘m Mrs. Rubio. Welcome to our school. I hope you will settle in quickly and feel comfortable here.“ said the secretary warmly.

“Thank you, I‘m very happy to be here.“

“I‘m very happy to hear that. Because I always say: Learn as much as you can, knowledge pays off!“ she raised her finger respectfully and laughed a little. 

Raquel liked her immediately. The woman received her so warmly that she put all her nervousness aside and felt immediately more comfortable. It was the way she dealt with people. You could tell that this woman enjoyed talking to others. She was the type of person that people liked to surround themselves with. This type of person who just makes you feel good.

“Well, you have to sign this piece of paper sometime. Take it with you, read it in peace and quiet and then just come back this evening or tomorrow morning and hand it in to me or one of my colleagues here.“ she pointed with her hand to the empty chairs next to her. "It just says the rules, what you may and may not do and what the consequences are and so on.“

“Okay, thank you.“  
Raquel took the note and looked at it briefly. Wow, she thought, then I have something to read later…

In her hands she held a note printed on both sides in such a small font that she had to look closer to decipher the letter.

“Okay, you are in the course of studies of interior design and interior architecture, right?“ the strawberry blond woman looked at her screen.

“Right.“

“Did you get an email for all your classes?“

“Yes, I did.“

“Then you know all your required courses, don‘t you?“

“Yes, I know them.“

“Okay, good. You can sign up for a few more classes if you want. Personally, I would recommend you to visit all of them first. If you don‘t like them, just come here to the office and write them out. But it would be good if you don‘t enroll and write them out again and again. Especially since you will lose a lot of material.“

“Okay, then I think I‘d like to register for all.“

A friendly smile glanced at her until Mrs. Rubio got up and walked to a cupboard from which she took out a few slips of paper.

“Here are all the lists. Please fill in your Name and class, then please sign here once.“

The woman handed her a ballpoint pen and Raquel began to read through the slips of paper until two people approached.

“Hello, Mrs. Rubio. I wanted to ask if you still have some of that cheesecake. It was so unbelievably delicious.“ was the sound of a feminine and excited voice.

“Ágata, of course. I left you an extra piece.“ Mrs. Rubio hurried to the back, opened a mini fridge and came back to the front with the piece of cheesecake and a fork on a plate.

”Here you go.“

“Thank you. You‘re my savior. The food in the cafeteria today was just disgusting.“ the young lady complained. Apparently the two were very close “Are you new here?“

Raquel looked up. A little further next to her was a medium-sized, slender woman with beautiful long black hair. She leaned against the counter and ate her piece of cake with pleasure. 

“Oh may God, the cake is so good. Here Sergio, try it!“ 

She handed the fork to a young and handsome man. If he wasn‘t with Ágata, she would have thought he was a new professor at the College. Tense and shy, he stood there with his light blue shirt, matching dark tie and hesitated briefly.

“Come on, I‘m not poisonous.“ Ágata pushed him and giggled.

Finally he took the fork and ate the piece.

“Yes, that‘s really very good.“ he gave her back the fork and poked his black glasses up with two fingers.

“Um, yes. I just arrived.“ Raquel threw into the room to answer Ágata‘s previous question.

“Cool, I‘m Ágata. This guy here is Sergio.“ she tapped the brown-haired man next to her with her elbow.

“Hi, I‘m Raquel.“

“Hello.“ it came suddenly from Sergio and he reached out to her.

“What are you studying?“ asked Ágata.

“Interior design and interior architecture.“

“Oh cool, I‘m in that too. So if you need any help, just call me.“ she smiled.

“Thanks“

Raquel turned back to her papers and diligently signed all the lists. After the fourth piece of paper, she felt her hand cramp up. Apparently it was not only her, because the pen also gave up.

“Oh, the pen is empty.“

“Wait, I‘ll give you a new one.“ Mrs. Rubio started digging for the pencil holder behind her screen.

“Here, you can use mine.“ Sergio reached into his little pocket from his shirt and handed her his pen.

Briefly overwhelmed, Raquel turned to him, looked into his eyes for a moment and took the pen.

“Thanks.“

She signed the last papers and held the pen out to him again.

“No problem. You can keep it if you want. I have enough of them.“

“Thank you.“ Raquel smiled slightly at him and handed the papers to Mrs. Rubio.

“Very well. Than that‘s settled. Tomorrow at 8am you have to go to the auditorium once. That‘s where all the new students meet and then the process here at our school will be explained once. How everything works, what you need and so on.“ Mrs. Rubio began to explain everything to her.

“Okay, and the schedule?“

“This will all be explained tomorrow as well, how to get your timetable. You‘ll have to sign up on a website and mark your classes and everything, but that will be all explained tomorrow.“

“Okay, good.“

“The only thing missing is your apartment. Did you drive here?“

Raquel nodded.

“Than you can drive behind the school into the courtyard. So just turn right twice from the entrance and than take the small road that leads to the courtyard. That way you don‘t have to carry all your things through the whole school. And when you’re finished, you can park your car in the large parking lot next to the dormitory. Your apartment is in block B, second floor, room 34. So just go inside the building and take the right staircase.“

“Thank you“ nodded Raquel understandingly and was just on her way to the door when she heard a deep and nervous voice behind her.

“If you need help carrying or anything, I can help you.“

She turned around and just saw Sergio put his glasses back on. He looked into her brown eyes and Raquel could see a tiny but hopeful smile on his lips until Ágata intervened.

“I-“ started Raquel, but was immediately interrupted.

“I can help you, too. I can show you around.“

Raquel broke off eye contact, turned to Ágata and immediately saw a difference between the casual Ágata of just now and then Ágata she was.

“Well, my Mom and my sister are in the car. But thank you anyway.“ she smiled somewhat forcedly at Ágata, turned around and walked through the door. Sergio stood there tense for a moment and watched her walking through the door and finally turned back to Ágata. With one hand he dreamily ran through his beard, brushed his shirt smooth and didn‘t even notice the teasing looks of Ágata, since his thoughts were already gone.

“Ohh, did our Sergio just fall in love?“

Ágata playfully hit him in his ribs with her elbow.  
He flinched briefly and was back in the past.

“What?“

Ágata could not help laughing. Never before in the year they had known each other had she seen him so confused.

“Raquel!“

“No, for God‘s sake!“ he now looked nervously from one point to another. His body cramped up again and slowly but surely his face began to change color.

“For God‘s sake? Is she that bad?“

“No! No, this is not what I meant. I just wanted to say that I don‘t feel any affinity on my part.“ he waved his hands frantically through the air to make his point.

“So you don‘t think she‘s pretty? You didn‘t like her smile?“

Sergio‘s cheeks burned.

“Well...um...she‘s a beautiful young woman, of course, but that doe-“

“I knew it! Our innocent little Sergio has finally fallen in love.“

“I didn‘t say that!“

“But you like her.“

“No. No, I don‘t. If you‘ll excuse me, I don‘t wanna listen to this any longer.“ he looked embarrassed on the floor and ran out of the room. His cheeks burned like never before in his life. As he ran out of the office he heard Ágata calling after him:

“I only wanna annoy you. But at least admit that you like her!!!“

He turned around again, just about to open his mouth to say something, but decided to go to the library to hide in the back corner and read.

————————————

“Well, that was the last bag“ Laura said with relief, putting the bag down in front of Raquel‘s closet and stretching her back.

“Thank you.“ Raquel smiled at her sister.

“You‘ll take off your clothes alone. I‘m not carrying the garbage two more floors!“

Raquel laughed and twisted her eyes playfully.

“I think that‘s the time to say goodbye. But don‘t make it too emotional. You‘re not dying.“

A little smile appeared on Raquel‘s lips as she hugged her sister.

“I‘ll miss you.“

“I‘ll miss you too. But at least now there will be more Paella left for me.“

Raquel couldn‘t help but laugh out loud. But after a few seconds faded she turned out of the embrace and looked at Laura with a deep look.

“Laura, you have to take good care of our Mom, okay? I‘ve noticed, especially lately, that she forgets a lot. Always make sure she takes her pills and doesn‘t miss her doctor‘s appointments. And drive her as often as you can!“

“I will. I promis, don‘t worry. Mom is fine.“ She gave her big sister a little smile.

“Yea...“ Raquel just breathed back.

Together, the two sisters went down the stairs and back to the car. Raquel said goodbye to her mother, who shed a tear or two. But she was very happy for her daughter, even if the farewell was a little hard for her.

After the car left, Raquel felt liberated. Not because she was away from her family, but because she was standing here alone. In front of the College of her dreams. She was so close to making her dreams come true and now there was nothing stopping her. Everything was in slow motion and she felt a tingling sensation of self-confidence rise up in her stomach as she stopped in front of the door and looked at the school‘s logo again.

I really did it, she thought and went inside. But Raquel didn‘t want to unpack her things yet. She wanted to look at the school. She wanted to know everything, where the assembly hall was, where the rooms were, what the rooms looked like, where the library was.

She walked down the hall and looked into open classrooms from time to time. She knew that the rooms were big, but standing in them was a completely different feeling. She felt somehow small and big at the same time. Not big in the sense of her height, but big in the sense that she was very close to her dreams.

She walked further down the hallway and after a short time she came across a door marked “Library“.

That‘s it, she thought. She went inside and looked around. She was standing in a large two-story library. The floor was covered with light-colored parquet and between the shelves were tables, chairs and beanbags. All in all it made a very comfortable and clean impression. The smell of old books rose in her nose and she loved it. She didn‘t read often, but when she did she enjoyed it to the fullest. And that was exactly what she needed now.  
She set off and roughly searched all the shelves. She went up the stairs hoping to find the right book there. And after half an eternity she found it.  
George Orwell - 1984. She hadn‘t read it for ages. It was on the top shelf and she laughed annoyed at it. She stood on her toes and stretched out her arm as far as she could. She hated being small.

A few inches taller wouldn‘t have killed me,she was annoyed inside.

She could barely touch the bottom of the book with her fingertips until she finally gave up and her gaze wandered through the room.

Sergio. He was sitting just a few meters away from her on a dark brown couch, his eyes deepened in a book.

“Umm, Sergio, right?“ She approached him carefully.

He looked confused and poked his glasses up.

“Yes. Yes, Sergio is right.“

“You offered to help me, right? I mean, they‘re not suitcases, but apparently higher powers decided that I shouldn‘t get the book, so I wanted to ask if you could help me?“

She looked a bit shyly but sweetly on the floor, brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and looked up again hopefully.

“The offer still stands, yes.“ He smiled and stood up, “which one are you looking for?“

Raquel led him to the shelf and looked up.

“George Orwell-1984“

He looked at her for a brief moment. With a look she couldn‘t interpret.

“What? Do you think I don‘t care about dystopian fiction?“ she crossed her arms and raised one eyebrow.

“No. No, I definitely don‘t think so. I- Well, I didn‘t want you to think that I think you weren‘t interested in political and critical issues. Because I don’t think that. I just find it amazing that you like the book. It‘s one of my favorites and so far I haven’t met anybody who would voluntarily read it.“ he escaped with a little giggle to get out of his embarrassment.

“I‘m just kidding. But yea, it‘s one of my favorites, too.“  
They looked at each other deeply and no one dared to look away. His dark brown eyes spoke more than he would ever say. They seemed so full of purity and honesty that it was hard not to be impressed by him.  
Outwardly he seemed to be a very reserved and shy man, but she felt that he could be himself with the right people.

“The book?“ she finally broke off eye contact and pointed up.

“Oh, yeah right. I‘m sorry.“

He reached for the book and gave it to her.

“Thank you.“ She gave him a short but real smile and walked past him, down to the information desk to borrow it.

Sergio sat back down on the couch, opened his book and didn‘t understand a single word he was reading.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this was our first chapter. We are trying to update weekly. Comments and Kudos would help a lot <3  
> You can find us on twitter @sayonee17


	2. Tell me your dreams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone :)  
> We hope you all are fine and safe! Here is chapter 2. We hope you like it.  
> Also special thank you to Ida <3

Actually, he should be sitting in a crowded room right now. Actually, he would be looking into a book and listening to a professor right this second. But now he was sitting in a far corner behind a mixing desk and had to make sure that the technology was running.

Aníbal, who was actually responsible for the technology, had called in sick this morning. And who thought it would be a good idea to hand in his homework when he met his professor in the hallway? Yes, Sergio. Never in all his years as a student had he hated himself as much as he did at that moment. At first he refused the request as well, but after much coaxing and pleading, he finally said yes. And now he was sitting in a full auditorium listening to a presentation for all the new students and all he had to do was to move a slider up and down depending on whether the microphone was too quiet or started to buzz. And he did all that for 1 1/2h. He would have died. He would have fallen off his chair dead with boredom if something hadn't suddenly struck him. Raquel.

As he let his gaze wander through the plenum, a blonde woman with beautiful hair tied up in a braid caught his eye. She wore a white top with thin straps and her skin seemed silky soft. Her gaze was fixed on a few pieces of paper on which she was drawing various patterns. And when he gave her a deeper look, he saw that she was drawing with a white ballpoint pen. The same one he had given her. Yes, it was definitely his.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't take his eyes off her. He couldn’t stop looking at her. Everything blurred around him. The people, the voices, the sounds. Everything lost its meaning. He didn't know himself where this came from. Why he suddenly felt this way. He had never felt like this in his whole life, but it felt good.

His heart began to beat faster when she lifted her head and looked in his direction. Their eyes met for a millisecond, but he quickly looked back down at the floor. When he looked up again, their eyes met again and he saw her laughing.

"Sergio. Sergio!" a distant voice tried to reach him, but it couldn't get to him. "Sergio! Sergio the controller!" the distant voice now called louder. But he was still too far away to realize what was happening around him. Only with a loud and unpleasant beep, he was pulled back to reality. In shock, he almost fell off his chair, but just barely held on to the table. His cheeks burned red and as quickly as he could, he pushed the slider down a bit until the beeping and the noise were gone.

"Sergio, you had one job. Where were you?"

He looked to his right and finally recognized the distant voice beside him. It was Alberto. He was sitting behind a laptop and taking care of other organizational things. Sergio was deeply embarrassed inside, but didn't want to show any weakness in front of Alberto.

"How is that relevant to where I just was?"

"Maybe because you had a job and you can't even get that right? Can you actually do anything or do you always just sit around uselessly?"

"Well, if Mr. Román had trusted you with this task, I wouldn't be sitting here now."

"Please, my job is much more important than pushing a little controller!"

"If you put it that way, I guess it is."

Sergio simply shook his head and turned back to the mixer. He didn't feel like arguing with Alberto now, especially since it wouldn't lead anywhere anyway.  
Inside, he was still very ashamed, especially because Raquel had witnessed it all. He spent the remaining 55 minutes staring stiffly at the slider. He didn't even dare look at Raquel. He didn't even know why, but he was afraid to see her reaction. What if she laughed at him? What if she thinks he's weird? Or worse, what if she doesn't like him now? Logically, he knew that these doubts were unnecessary and unfounded, but still his inner self couldn't stop thinking about it.

[...]

She had her first day of school behind her. And she loved it madly. All the teachers were quite nice and she could already make friends with a few others from her classes. All in all, she was looking forward to the next few weeks so that she could really get started with her classes. When she met Ágata in the hallway in the morning, she told her to go to the cafeteria early to get a seat. Raquel looked at her cell phone and walked more briskly when she saw how late it already was. She entered the big room and directly met a long queue. But she was lucky, only a few minutes later, people behind her were lined up to he hallway. But still she was late. After buying a sandwich and a coffee, she was now standing in a crowded cafeteria with nowhere to go. Monica still had an hour of class, so Raquel was all alone in this crowd. Slowly she walked down the hall looking for a free seat until she finally got to the end of the room and found a free table in the corner, which was occupied only by Sergio. With a small smile, she approached him, but he didn't even notice that she was approaching and read his book in peace while he bit contentedly into his apple.

"You like sitting in corners, don't you?" she stopped in front of him.

In shock, he choked on his apple and tried to cough it up.

"Oh my god, Sergio. Are you okay?" she asked worriedly, not knowing what to do.

"Everything...o-okay." he tried to speak as he was interrupted by heavy coughing. But that only made it worse. The apple bit slid deeper and deeper down his throat and his head burned with distress and embarrassment. Quickly, Raquel put the tray down and walked over to him.

"Oh God Sergio, what are you doing." she had to giggle a bit as she patted him on the back at regular intervals. He felt the bit slowly loosen up and finally it was up enough for him to swallow it.

With one hand he signaled that he was okay again and that she could stop patting him on the back.

"Are you okay?" she asked laughing and he just nodded and nudged his glasses up "So, I know I didn't do my hair right today, but am I so ugly that you're scared of me?"

She looked at him with a teasing look while he just looked up in wonder.

"What, um, no. No! That wasn't the reason. You're not ugly. Your hair isn't ugly either. I just… wasn't expecting you. That was all."

Clumsily, he tried to save himself. He had no experience talking to women. Well, actually he had talked to women a few times before and it went okay, but with her it was different. He felt very uncomfortable very quickly. He wanted to do everything right, but that very thought alone felt like a mistake. He wanted to manage not to embarrass himself in front of her and he was already picked up by her twice and almost choked once.

"Sergio, I'm just kidding." laughed Raquel "can I sit down?"

Still somewhat reoriented, he looked at her from his seat.

"Um, sure. Sit down." he gestured with his hand.

When she pushed the chair in front of him back a little to sit down, he quickly doubted his decision and wondered if it was right for her to sit with him. He didn't know what to talk about or how to act. Should he start a conversation? But what should he say?

After she took a seat in front of him, everything about him changed immediately. He looked down at his food and straightened his back. His shoulders moved back and he looked a little very uptight and stiff while she sat casually in front of him with her hands on the table. There was a brief pause while Raquel took her sandwich and began to eat. But those few minutes of silence did not do Sergio's nerves any good at all. From second to second he felt more uncomfortable and would have liked to break the silence if he wasn't so damn insecure.

"You still haven't answered me" Raquel looked up.

"On what?"

"Whether you like sitting in corners."

He didn't know what to answer. The only thing he did was stammer around insecurely

"Well...um...I- I don't usually like to be the center of attention. You're less conspicuous in the corner." he answered the question seriously and poked his glasses.

"Sergio!" laughed Raquel.

He looked at her with an annoyed, but still sweet look and after a few seconds of total confusion understood why she started laughing. Slowly but surely, a small, albeit somewhat warped smile crept onto his lips as well.

"What are you laughing at" came another voice from behind.

"Oh, it's just so funny how easy it is to annoy Sergio."

Raquel looked up at Ágata, who agreed with her, laughing. The two women laughed, only Sergio sat silently by.

"Oh, please don't be mad. I'm just kidding," Raquel apologized.

She slowly calmed down and continued eating her sandwich. Even though he knew she was laughing at him, albeit in a friendly way, something deep in his chest warmed at the sight of her smile. He didn't know where it came from or what it meant, but it made him happy to see her laugh. It's because she's slowly settling in at school, he figured. What else could be the cause? He was an emphatic person. He could still remember his first day very well and remember exactly how lost he had felt. That's why he was just glad that she had someone to talk to and didn't have to sit alone.

Ágata sat down next to Raquel on the table, with her feet firmly planted on a chair. Somewhat embarrassed, Sergio looked up at her.

"Ágata, please!"

"What, others are sitting on the table too."

"But you don't do that. It's rude, especially there are people eating at the table."

" It never bothered you when I sat on the table. And who eats here except you?"

Sergio looked at Raquel, who was putting away her sandwich.

"Well, I don't. You really can't eat this shit.“

"What do you all have against the food here?" interjected Sergio indignantly.

"Now don't act like you like it. You're the only one here who eats this disgusting grub out of politeness!" Ágata playfully slapped him on the shoulder.

"So, what are you guys doing this weekend?"

Raquel faltered for a moment. Should she answer? She didn't really know Ágata and Sergio yet, but they made her feel like she was one of them. She liked them both.

"Umm...so Andrés and I are meeting at Hanoi on Saturday."

"Sergio, be my hero and take me with you!" pleaded Ágata "I finally want to have a real lunch!"

"You could just buy some fruits here. It's healthy and not ‘disgusting grub‘."

"Oh come on Sergio. Please."

"Okay." he relented, nudging his glasses up.

"And you?" Ágata turned her gaze to Raquel. "What are you up to?"

"Nothing yet."

"Why don't you come with us?"

"Really? Well, I don't know. Actually, only Andrés and Sergio wanted to meet, right?"

"Oh nonsense. Don't be shy! Andrés loves to meet Sergio's few friends. And if Sergio likes you, Andrés will like you too. It'll be fun."

"You sure?"

Raquel looked questioningly at Sergio.

"I'm sure Andrés won't mind," he straightened his shoulders and focused on his food again.

"Okay, I'm in then."

"Yaaay!" Ágata cried out, throwing her hands in the air.

"Where's that?"

"Oh, don't worry about that. Sergio will drive us," Ágata reassured her.

"Can I veto that?" protested Sergio.

"Nope. Be a gentleman and drive us."

"All right." snorted out Sergio and just nodded.

"Okay, give me your number. I'll text you later when and where we'll meet," Ágata turned back to Raquel.

———————————————

The next few days Raquel sat at the table with Sergio and Ágata from time to time, but when she ate with Monica, Sergio felt a little bored. He liked their little conversations, even if they were rather short. With her, he didn't feel like he was falling silent with anxiety. With her it was much easier to talk and laugh. The little jokes she cracked were often the highlight of his day, even if he didn't even notice it himself. At first he was a little afraid to meet her on Saturday because he didn't know how to act or what to say. But by now he felt a little nervousness of anticipation in his bones.

[...]

She had finally made it through her first week. It was Saturday and she was standing in front of her closet thinking about what to wear. In about an hour she would leave with Ágata and Sergio to meet his brother.

"So, which outfit should I wear?" pointed Raquel with her arm to her bed where two outfits were lying.

"I think the right one, but why are you dressing up? Who wants to go out with you?" teased the blonde behind her.

"Monica! Nobody. I'm just going to eat at Hanoi with Ágata and Sergio."

"Wait, I know Ágata, but who is Sergio?"

"A friend of hers. He's tall, brown-haired, wears glasses, a little uptight."

"Why am I not surprised that the hottest guys are chasing you?"

"Monica! He's not chasing me! We're not even really friends...I think. So we were just talking in the cafeteria and Ágata talked me into coming along. He actually just wanted to meet his brother. I don't think he wants me to be there. Ágata just talked her way in, too."

"And how are you going to get there? I mean it's 5 p.m. and it'll be dark soon."

"Don't worry about it. Sergio is driving us."

"Voluntarily?"

"No. Ágata decided for him." Raquel giggled at the memory of his indignant face.

"God, that man has a really hard time with you guys." Monica patted her on the shoulder and sat back down on her bed, smirking.

Raquel made her curls, applied a little make up and left her room.

"Have a great time later!" her friend called after her.

Raquel rolled her eyes laughing and knew exactly what kind of great time she meant.

Once downstairs, Raquel could already see Ágata and Sergio standing in the parking lot. She walked up to them and Ágata jumped right around her neck.

"Raquel! Hey!"

"Oh God, Hey." laughed Raquel as she almost fell backwards with Ágata.

Sergio could only look at her. The way her perfect curls framed her beautiful face. The way her mascara made her warm brown eyes shine even more. The way her gray sweater, along with a black skirt, perfectly accentuated her figure. And her black overknees to match. God, she was so beautiful. All he could do was look at her. How her hair fell, her smile shone, how her tiny body moved. What could she possibly think of him? He couldn't take his eyes off her. She must surely think he's weird.

"Hi." she now stood in front of him and raised her hand in greeting. Her sleeves were so long that they almost reached her fingers. How in the world could sleeves look so cute?

"Umm...Hi." he just stuttered to himself, not even understanding the words he was speaking. He looked at her and she gave him a small smile.

"So, can we go?" asked Ágata, bringing him out of his trance.

"Um...yes. Of course."

"I'm sitting in front!" cried Ágata, sitting down next to Sergio.

Sergio was glad that Raquel wasn't sitting next to him. For God's sake, they would have needed a guardian angel to arrive safely, because now he definitely wouldn't be able to see her in the corner of his eye the whole time and drive safely at the same time.

[...]

After 15 minutes of driving, they finally arrived safely at the Hanoi. They opened the door and saw Sergio's brother sitting at a table a little further back. Andrés immediately got up and ran to Sergio.

"Hermanito! There you are. How are you?" Andrés greeted him and hugged his brother.

"Good. Good." was all Sergio could answer, and he was almost crushed by Andrés. Since Sergio left for college, the two brothers didn't see each other that often. Often they just talked on the phone or wrote each other messages.

"You must be Raquel, right?" turned Andrés to Raquel and shook her hand with a smile.

"Yes." she gave him a small but shy smile.

"It's a great pleasure to meet you. I am Andrés."

"Hello Andrés."

"Come, sit down." he asked the three to the table.

"Um...hello?!" slapped Ágata on the arm.

"Oh Ágata, there's you too." feigned Andrés surprise.

"Ha Ha, very funny."

"No, seriously, I'm glad to finally see you again."

They all sat down at the table of four. Ágata next to Sergio and opposite Andrés next to Raquel. After the waiter took their order, they talked. Well, actually only Ágata and Andrés. Every now and then, Sergio would assert himself to say something while Raquel sat more quietly by. She didn't know what to say, so she just listened and laughed at the stories Andrés told.

Sometimes Sergio let his eyes wander to Raquel without even noticing. Once, he also caught himself not listening to the others at all, but just keeping his eyes on her. He didn't usually look at people like that. Normally, his eyes were just focused on having as little contact with others as possible. He felt safer alone, away from all the attention. A perfect day for him would be to be alone in his room and possibly have a short visit from his brother. He loved the quiet. That he could think in peace. That no one was with him to talk him full of unnecessary garbage. Just the question "How are you?" from strangers annoyed him. These people didn't want to know how he was really doing. They just hoped you would answer "Fine" so they wouldn't have to keep asking. It was purely a matter of formality and not a need to know if his counterpart was doing well.

"But how did my little brother manage to bring such a pretty woman?" interjected Andrés, bringing Sergio out of his thoughts in a flash.

"Well, actually, he didn't invite me. Ágata talked me into it," Raquel had to smile when she saw Andrés laughing.

"Why am I not surprised?" he looked at Sergio, who looked at him with anguished looks "our Sergio here has never been good with people. Especially not with women."

"Why do we have to talk about something like that?" defended Sergio "Besides, I'm probably capable of having normal conversations with women."

He crossed his arms, snorting.

"Oh yeah? Just like I set you up on a date together with Martín and I and you dodged every single flirtation until at some point she didn't feel like talking to you anymore?"

If looks could kill, Andrés would be the first to drop dead right now.

"Seriously?" said Raquel, unable to help but laugh at Sergio's discomfort.

"Yes! She had been trying to flirt with him the whole time. She had even asked him what he was up to later and he just replied, "I have to return a book."

Sergio's last looks were nothing compared to the way he looked at Andrés now.

"You didn't seriously say that, did you?" groaned Raquel, somewhat shocked.

Sergio just looked down at his hands.

"Sergio could have had sex. With a woman who was even really pretty. But no, he had other priorities," Andrés shook his head, chuckling.

"But that was just an excuse, right? You didn't really have to return a book." Raquel asked.

"Yes, he did. We came back to the university and Sergio went to the library and returned his book, which was still valid until next week." Ágata leaned back and looked at Sergio with a teasing look.

"I can't believe you actually did that." still had Raquel laughing "was the book at least good?"

"It was. Don Quijote of-"

"Miguel de Cervantes"

Sergio looked at Raquel in amazement. He knew she was special, and yet she always surprised him.

"You read it?" he asked, adopting a small smile.

"I just recently reread it."

Sergio didn‘t know what to say. The two looked at each other and for a brief moment there was silence at the table.

"Oh God, don't tell me you're also so into books that nobody knows." Ágata finally broke the silence.

"Hey. Just because you're not literate? That book really isn't that bad. " Raquel defended herself and Sergio was still amazed. What he didn't notice, however, was how Andrés looked at him.

After the waiter brought the food and everyone began to eat, Andrés straightened up, "But I wanted to tell you something."

Everyone looked at him expectantly.

"After all, Martín and I will have been together for a year next Wednesday, so I thought I'd give him a trip to Paris as a gift."

"Ohh, that's such a cute idea!" Ágata blurted out.

"I know. I just wanted to tell you this before so you know we're not there that week."

"Who is Martín, anyway?" asked Raquel.

"Martín is my boyfriend. We've been together for almost a year. We met at a party back then."

"Oh God, please don't remind me," Sergio interjected.

Raquel looked back and forth between the two brothers, eager to know what had happened. Just as Andrés was about to start talking, Ágata burst in.

"Oh, may I tell the story? Please!"

Andrés nodded at her with a laugh.

"Well, it was like this: Martín and I knew each other before. And when he was in town for the first time in a long time and there was a party at the college in the evening, I asked Andrés and Sergio if it was okay if a friend joined us."

"Wait, Sergio was at a party?" wondered Raquel, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, I was. I'm not that boring." snorted Sergio, but was corrected by Andrés.

"No Hermanito. You are as boring as you look." he laughed "Sergio was sitting on a chair on the edge with his cup of water in his hand."

Just as Sergio was about to defend himself, Ágata interjected herself back into the conversation "May I continue the story now?"

"Of course, sorry." Andrés nodded while Sergio just looked at his plate in frustration.

"So, as I said, I asked them both and Andrés didn't have a problem with it, only Sergio. But that's nothing new. And then at the party, as you know, they also drink a lot of alcohol and Martín had a little too much." she paused a little "He was standing in the middle of the room, swinging his hips and throwing up in the middle of his feet."

"Oh God, that's disgusting!" muttered Raquel to herself.

"And Sergio, who had just been sitting by all evening, was about to get up and leave when Martín took off his full shoe and threw it at Sergio."

"Oh my God." Raquel couldn't help but laugh.

"But that's not the best part. Because when Martín took off his shoe and wanted to throw it at Sergio to stop him, Andrés ran to him and the shoe hit his back exactly. His whole shirt was full of alcohol and pizza. I'm telling you, it wasn't a pretty sight, even though it was very funny."

"Does vomit connect?" disgusted Raquel.

"Yes, in a way it does," Andrés smiled at the memory of that evening.

"Last I knew, the two of them were in the bathroom for over two hours, supposedly washing his shirt the whole time." Even Ágata rolled her eyes a bit in disgust "I mean, how can you fall in love after having vomit thrown at you?"

"So your story" Raquel raised an eyebrow at Andrés "is really unique."

"I know." Andrés smiled proudly.

"Can we please change the subject now then?" Sergio looked up "I'd like to eat without thinking about vomit."

After they all finished eating and still continued talking and laughing, Ágata said goodbye and went to party with her friend Silene. Every time Raquel said something or just laughed, Sergio's eyes always rested on her and a silly smile spread on his lips. Sergio hardly noticed, but Andrés took in every single one of his looks and couldn't help but smile inwardly at how sweet his brother was.

"Well, I think I'm going to go home again. Martín will come by later and I think I'd better leave you two alone," Andrés stood up and winked at Sergio.

They paid and Raquel and Sergio also left the restaurant. Sergio felt a small twinge of disappointment as they stood in front of the restaurant, and he knew that they were now going back to college. Deep down, he didn't want to leave just yet. He wanted to keep talking to her. And to be honest, he liked her company. He found it surprisingly easy to talk to her and he didn't feel the need to go back to his lonely room like he usually did. No, with her it was different. Maybe it was the way she laughed. The way she radiated pure warmth. Or the way she had an opinion about everything. She was so smart. Yes, that must be it, he thought.

"So, do you want to go straight back already? Or do you want to do anything else? I don't know, maybe walk around the park or something?" She suggested, pointing with her hand to the park across the street.

God, could she read minds?

"Um, yeah. Sure, we can do that."

After he nudged his glasses up, she had to laugh.

"You always poke your glasses up, don't you?"

"I think so, yes. But I hardly notice it, it's more like a silly habit."

"No, I think it's cute. It suits you."

His cheeks colored slightly.

"It suits me?"

"Yeah, well, because you look so smart in general."

"So I look smart just because I wear glasses?"

"And because you always walk around like a professor."

He hesitated for a moment.

"Actually, that's kind of become a nickname of mine, too."

"Because you wear ties?" she raised an eyebrow, giggling.

"No," he rolled his eyes with a smile, "Actually, because I've always been very inquisitive before, and I've been into things that others found totally boring."

"So you've read a lot before, right?"

"Yes."

"How come? Didn't you ever want to play outside or something?"

"I couldn't. You know," he hesitated again briefly, gathering his thoughts, "I was very sick as a child. I went from hospital to hospital a lot and no doctor could really help me. That's why I missed a lot of school-"

"And that's why you're so shy." she finished his sentence and looked at him with an understanding look. "And what have you been doing all this time?"

"Well, I read a lot and my father often told me stories. At some point he came to my room with a book in his hand and taught me how to fold origami. And from then on, my bed was filled with paper birds." He looked down at the ground and had to smile as he thought back to his time with his father. "My dream was always to make a paper house."

She had to smile "Have you ever done it?"

"Well, I tried. But it never worked out. Eventually, I gave up on it."

She giggled at the thought of a little Sergio trying to build a house out of paper.

"Are you planning to try again?"

"So I've been trying to build a model. Or am still in the process of doing so. It relaxes me. But in the meantime, I'm more interested in real houses than paper houses."

"So this is your dream?"

"Well. I don't really have dreams, I have goals. I want to become an architect. My father could never be because he never had time. He worked day and night so I could go to this college."

Understanding lit her up.

"That's why you do so well in school."

"Yes, I want to graduate with a good degree and make my father proud."

"I think he's already proud of you."

For a few seconds there was silence.

"Do you have a dream?"

"I've wanted to go to Palawan since I was little child."

"Why?" he looked at her.

"I don't know. I always wanted to live in a house on the beach, and then when I asked my teacher in elementary school where the most beautiful beach was, she told me about Palawan."

"Maybe you can travel there someday."

"It's definitely still on my to-do list." she gave him a soft smile.

They walked around the park for some more time, talking and laughing. It was one of those evenings that felt like they would never end. As if time stopped for a moment and the whole world was spinning just for them. After a while he saw her wrapping her arms around herself and trembling slightly.

"Wait," he said, taking off his jacket.

"No, no, it's okay. You don't have to." she tried to stop him, but he wouldn't let her.

"No, you're cold and I don't want you to be cold!"

Without hesitation, he put his jacket around her shoulders.

"But then you're freezing."

"No. I'm warm."

She looked at him skeptically.

"Really. No problem."

"Thank you." she smiled and looked at him.

Immediately after he took off his jacket, he felt the cold penetrate through him, but he didn't care. As long as she was warm, he would be able to endure any cold.

Slowly they made their way back to the car and during the car ride there was a surprisingly comfortable silence. It was new for him, but he felt incredibly comfortable, although no one said anything. They both just enjoyed the music on the radio while she looked out the window and after a short while he noticed her eyelids getting heavier. Back at the college, he still walked her to her room.

"I really enjoyed the evening." he looked sheepishly at the floor.

"Me too."

This little smile she gave him made his heart beat faster again.

"So, I'll see you tomorrow?" she asked, still wearing his jacket.

"Of course."

"Okay, good night."

"Good night."

And with that, she closed the door.

As he lay in bed in his pajamas staring at his ceiling, he suddenly remembered that she still had his jacket. Yes, he thought and began to smile, tomorrow he will see her again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading this story! We hope you liked this chapter :) Comments and Kudos are very appreciated <3


	3. Trick or Treat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey :)  
> We're so so sorry that we haven't posted in a while but the last weeks have been very stressful for both of us. Anyway, this chapter is quite long so we split it into two chapters. Next chapter will be posted next week.

The numbers blurred before her eyes. Her vision blinded by her thoughts. She couldn't help herself, somehow her thoughts were only with him right now. Everything that had to do with school reminded her of him. Every pair of glasses she saw, every tie she ran across, every apple she bit into. Everything led her to him. And she couldn't stop it. Not exactly. For the past month, she'd seen him every day at lunch, and his nudge of glasses became her favorite habit. With him, everything felt a little more bearable. Like a balance between all the nerves she was losing on the side.

"Hello? Are you even listening to me anymore?" Ágata fanned her hand in front of Raquel's eyes and threw her out of her thoughts again. 

"Do you think I should invite Sergio to the Halloween party?"

"Don't you think that's a little off topic right now?

"I don't want him to feel left out."

"Don't you think it's more important to understand math right now instead of inviting Sergio to a party?"

"I mean, we can't have Halloween without him, right?"

Ágata put her pen down on the table and gave up helping her with math.

"So you can try inviting him, but I'm telling you, he's not going to come. He hasn't gone to a party since he almost got vomit thrown at him." 

"But that's ridiculous."

"Tell him that and not me. But he won't come, no matter how many times you ask him. I've tried to persuade him a thousand times, but he's not the kind of guy who likes to party."

Raquel looked down at her notebook and thought. 

"If you want to ask him, go ahead. Don't let me stop you. But you will come to nothing." Ágata leaned back.

After a brief silence, Raquel looked up again.

"No, he can't just be alone while everyone goes to this party!" 

And with that, she stood up and left the room.

"You have a better chance of understanding math!" Ágata called after her, but Raquel didn't hear her anymore.

Motivated to convince Sergio to go to the party, she ran up the stairs to Block A and stopped in front of his door. At first she knocked quietly, but when no one responded, she got louder. But again no one opened the door.   
She stood silently outside his door while she pondered where he might be, until finally an idea came to her. And she was right. Briskly she scurried through the corridors of the library and found him sitting on a sofa in the far corner. Just as he was about to greet her, she interrupted him.

"Come to the Halloween Party!"

"What?" Somewhat taken aback, he finally looked up at her properly.

"Come to the Halloween party!" she repeated.

"Where almost everyone goes?"

"Yes."

"No, I don't think that's for me."

"I didn't ask you to come, I want you to come."

"But why should I come?"

"Why shouldn‘t you come?" 

"Well, I don't like the smell of alcohol very much. Neither does cigarette smoke. Besides, there are too many people I don't know, I-"

"No. You know almost everyone there."

"But I'm not friends with anyone there."

"We're friends."

"But not with the others, Raquel. I don't want to be with so many people."

"Why not?"

"Because it's so loud, I don't know what to say to other people, they'll all get drunk, break things, throw up on the floor." remembering his last party, he felt sick again.

"But you don't have to talk to everyone there. It's enough if we talk. And besides, I won't drink if you're with me."

"But I can't dance either!"

"Nobody says a party is all about dancing. It's just about having fun."

"But you can't have fun with me!"

"I'm having fun with you. You're fun."

"Why am I even justifying myself? I don't have to explain to you why I make the decisions I do."

"Right, you don't have to do that."

"Good, because I won't do it anymore!"

"Okay, but then I don't have anyone to watch over me. I could definitely be more responsible with alcohol if you came along."

"I thought you weren't going to drink." he looked at her with a little teasing look.

"No, I said I wouldn't drink if you came. But if you don't go, you'll find me drunk on your doorstep at night and I'll complain about how much the party sucked without you."

He thought about it for a brief moment. He didn't want to. For God's sake, he'd rather read in his room and not squeeze in between drunken students. But he didn't want to leave her alone either. He didn't care about the alcohol, but he knew the people who went to parties like this. He knew she was tricking him into coming along, but the thought of her getting drunk and being hit on by some older students who split their intelligence between their fists and their dicks made him a little uneasy. He didn't want her to have that kind of experience right after her first few weeks. 

"You're not going to drink?"

"No, I won't if you're there. I promise."

He hesitated.

"Okay. But just this one party."

She was insanely happy and did a little jump of joy. The smile she gave him triggered something in him. He didn't know what it was, but it was nice to see her smile. Even though he thought it would be just this one party, he couldn't say 'no' to her if she asked again.

"Tomorrow at 7 p.m. at my place!" she called to him as she left him alone again.  
He just nodded at her.

Yes, he thought, he definitely wouldn't say 'no'.

[...]

At first she thought he would not come. Actually, he thought the same, but still he stood punctually at 7 pm in front of her door in a gray shirt and knocked.  
After she pulled him in, he finally noticed what Raquel and Monica looked like. 

"Why do you have blood on your face?"

"Sergio. It's a Halloween party. And on Halloween, you dress up."

He looked at her in horror.

"Does that mean I have to have blood on my face, too?"

Raquel laughed.

"No, but it would come in handy if you did at least a little bit of makeup."

He shook his head. 

"No, there was never any question of that!"

"So you want to go now?"

"If I have to put on makeup, yes."

She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow.

"So you want me to throw up on your doorstep later?"

He hesitated again. He knew she was trying to trick him and he was not impressionable. He definitely wasn't suggestible. Not with others. Not with her. But...what if she ran into Alberto? Or Suarez? He knew Raquel was an attractive young woman. Likewise, he knew that the two of them were not the most respectful. But did she know that? The two of them had a certain charm and he definitely didn't rate them as unattractive. A lot of women like them. He sighed.

"Mhh...okay." He finally agreed reluctantly.

"Monica! What should we make him up as?"

Sergio was now sitting on a chair while Raquel and Monica enthusiastically exchanged ideas. 

"Um...maybe something inconspicuous. Something easy." Sergio suggested and tried to get through to the two women in front of him. 

"Maybe a horror clown?" suggested Raquel. 

"Yes, then we could put fake blood around his eyes and mouth."

"But I don't want to be a horror clown!"

"Oh come on Sergio. A clown is easy and it will look good. I promise."

He didn't object, just sighed and let Raquel make him up as a clown. She began to lighten his face and neck with a white color and then started to make up his nose dark red and around his eyes two pointed triangles. Monica came with the tube of fake blood and dabbed a few drops under his eyes and around his mouth.

After they were done, he looked in the mirror and noticed that he didn't look very scary.

"I know, but you can't be made up very scary." Complained Raquel.

"But I thought I was supposed to look scary?" he asked in wonder.

"Then you're a cute clown now." she paused for a moment.

There it was again. The indistinct feeling in his chest.

"If anyone says you don't look cute, I'll hit them!" she laughed.

He looked at her and the little smirk on her lips infected him.

[...]

Together they walked down the hallway, hearing the music from far away. Just as they entered the party, Ágata and a young brown-haired woman approached them. 

"Raquel, Monica, hey!" greeted Ágata the two until her gaze drifted to the side "Sergio, you here? How?" 

"Looks like he just needed the right motivation," Raquel said, playfully raising her eyebrow.

"Ohhh" came only from Ágata, looking at Sergio with a twinkle in her eye.

"Not what you think!" he intervened, but to no avail.

"Sure...by the way, this are Silene and Aníbal." Ágata introduced the couple next to her.

"Hey, I'm Raquel." hugged Raquel the two warmly.

"Monica." followed the blonde next to her.

After everyone greeted each other, the group split. The girls and Aníbal on the dance floor and Sergio at a table on the edge. 

Raquel swayed her hips to match the music. How she moved, how the music flowed through her body, how breathtakingly beautiful her hair was on her shoulders. Sergio no longer paid any attention to the others. Only she shone for him. Only her movements attracted his eyes. He assumed she was attractive, but for the first time he realized how beautiful she really was. At first he thought he would be bored just sitting around doing nothing, but watching her having fun would never bore him.

"So, how did you do it?" asked Ágata Raquel.

"Did what?"

"Umm, bringing Sergio here."

"Oh, that. I don't know. I didn't ask him if he wanted to come, I told him I wanted him to come."

"Come on, tell me! I could have said the same thing and he still would have said no."

"Really, that’s it."

Ágata raised an eyebrow.

"Really! You can ask him. That’s it."

Without saying a word, she walked towards Sergio and sat down on a chair next to him.

"So, why are you here?"

"Why am I here?" he repeated her question.

"You're not here by choice." laughed Ágata.

"Raquel talked to me about the party and said she wanted me to be there. That's all."

"Okay, now tell me the real reason." Ágata propped her head up with her hand.

Sergio took a deep breath and hesitated whether he should tell her about it. He didn't even know what he should tell.

"She told me she was going to get drunk and throw up on my doorstep."

"Don't tell me you believed that!" Ágata playfully nudged him on the shoulder.

"No, of course not. But I believed her that she would drink."

"That's why you're here. You're looking out for her." Understanding dawned on her face.

Sergio just looked at her with a small nod of his head.

"You really like her, don't you?"

"What, no! I just don't want her to get drunk and then get picked on by some stupid people. You know how bad Suarez's group is," he crossed his arms indignantly.

"With me, you don't care if I get drunk or not," Ágata chuckled a little.

"No, I do care. But I know you can take care of yourself."

"And Raquel can't take care of herself?" 

"Yes, of course she can. But what if someone harasses her or something like that? She's still new here, she shouldn't experience something like that in her first months here. Besides, she doesn't really have anyone to be there for her yet."

"She has us, Sergio. She's not alone. There are five of us here plus a dozen other people."

"Still, one more never hurts."

Ágata said nothing more and just looked at him. During the conversation he often looked back at the dance floor to see if Raquel was doing well. 

"She doesn't need a chaperone. She's with us. Maybe try to relax a bit and just have fun." were Ágata's last words before she went back to the dance floor. 

After a few minutes Raquel came to him and tried in vain to make him dance. 

"Okay, if you don't want to that's fine. But I don't want you to be bored."

"Don't worry, I won't be bored." Sergio promised her, before she went back to Ágata, Monica, Aníbal and Silene, still with a guilty conscience. But without any warning, suddenly a slender, dark blonde woman stood in front of him.

"Is this place still free?" asked the bright voice.

"Um, yeah. Sure." 

"Sergio, right?"

"Yes." he nudged his glasses up.

"I'm Vero."

"I know. Umm, I mean I've heard your name before."

"I hope it was in a positive way."

Actually, no, but Sergio preferred to get his own picture of people before judging them badly.

"How do you know me?" he asked her.

"Oh, I saw Ágata talking to you earlier and she said your name. I've been watching you for a little while and thought I'd just address you now." 

She elegantly crossed her legs and sat up straight.

"You've been watching me?"

"Not in a weird way. You looked interesting. " She gave him a shy smile "But I'm actually rather shy. I don't really know how to approach people. I'm so sorry if that comes across as kind of weird. “

"No, no, it's all good. Um, I know that very well. Sometimes it's hard for me to talk to strangers, too." he nervously nudged his glasses up again.

"But now we know each other. " She paused a bit "So, why are you here? You don't exactly look like someone who likes to dance at parties."

"Um, I'm keeping an eye on a friend for a bit so she doesn't drink too much."

"Ah, I see. So you're sort of the daddy here, making sure everyone gets to their room okay?"

"Yeah, something like that." laughed Sergio a little.

———————————————

"Oh my God, Ágata don't turn around now!" Silene shouted through the loud music.

"Why?" she turned and froze.

"What is she doing here!"

"Who?" asked Raquel cluelessly.

"The blonde bitch next to Sergio!"

"But they're just talking," Raquel interjected. Still clueless what happened.

"Oh no, she's hitting on him and trying to get laid. That's all she wants!"

"And what's so bad about that?" deep inside Raquel felt a small dislike for this woman.

Ágata blushed with anger, so Silene answered for her.

"Her name is Vero. And she hits on and sleeps with every good-looking guy. No matter if he's in a relationship or not. She also tried to get close to Aníbal and slept with Ágata's boyfriend at the time."

"Then why is Sergio talking to her?"

"He likes to make up his own mind about people before he makes bad judgments." Silene rolled her eyes.

She didn't know where it came from, but something bothered her about this Vero talking to Sergio.

"Look how she makes him laugh!" said Ágata in disgust, clenching her hands into fists "I'll slap her. She better leave Sergio alone!"

"Whoa, Ágata stop!" held Raquel Ágata back by her arm as she was about to walk off to the table.

"What?!" she snapped.

"You can't just go there and start a fight! They're still just talking. Besides, I can't imagine Sergio will get along well with her if she's so daredevil." Raquel tried to reassure her.

"Oh no, she looks at what type of person you are first and then starts building a conversation to match." 

Ágata's anger increased more and more, but gradually her friends managed to calm her down, although each of them would not have found it inappropriate if Ágata had not allowed herself to be stopped.

———————————

With a deep sigh, Raquel leaned into the chair next to Sergio.

"Okay, I think I need a break."

Immediately, Sergio turned to her.

"You want me to get you something to drink?"

"No, it's fine." she gave him an honest smile.

"And you are?" asked Vero.

"Raquel."

"You're new here, aren't you? I've never seen you before."

"Yes, I've been here for a month."

"And how did you two meet?" pointed Vero at the two of them.

"He offered to help me carry my bags."

"Oh, real gentleman." she smiled playfully at him, "too bad I'm not new."

"Well, I think that's the least you can do. " if he was honest, he enjoyed being showered with such compliments. Rarely was he called a gentleman. More like a buzzkill, a bore, or a killjoy.

"No, it really doesn't come naturally anymore. I'm impressed that you're so into classic romance."

He blushed.

"This has nothing to do with romance."

"Well, I do think it's very romantic when a man carries my bags upstairs."

She ran a finger lightly through a few strands of hair.   
A small grin spread on his lips and he colored a little. Vero's eyes were only on him and neither of them noticed Raquel's angry looks. After a few minutes, when no one said anything, Sergio turned to Raquel.

"How long are you actually going to stay?"

"I don't know. Maybe until you dance with us?" she teased him.

"You know I don't dance."

"The night is still young!"

Her laughter was interrupted by a phone call.

"Oh, wait, I have to take this. I'll be right back." she got up and hurried out of the room into the somewhat quieter hallway.

"Mom?"

"Hello?" sounded an older voice on the phone.

"Mom, hi, what's up?"

"Raquel? “

"Yes mom, it's me."

"Are you coming to lunch tomorrow?"

"Mom, I can't."

"You say that every time." her mother cut her off "We miss you here."

Tears formed in Raquel's eyes. She didn't know how to react. A few minutes ago she was happily dancing with her friends and now she was standing in front of the party holding back tears.

"I miss you, too."

Silent tears ran down her cheek.

"We can't visit you, you don't come to see us. You never have time. “

Never before had her mother blamed her like that. She was the one who convinced Raquel to go to college. She wanted her to live her dream.

"I'll come visit you on Tuesday, okay?" 

She actually had classes until 4 p.m., but since she had volunteered for the last few classes anyway, she thought she could skip them for once.

"Promise?"

"Yes, I promise."

"Then I'll make paella for all of us. “

"That sounds good, but why are you still awake? You sound tired. “

"No, everything is fine. I just feel a little limp and then I sleep during the day. This is what it is like to be old."

"What have you been up to today?" asked Raquel, wiping her tears from her face with one hand. She wanted to lighten the conversation a bit. To talk to her, to make her feel better. To get her mother back. The few times they talked on the phone, Raquel noticed how her mother was changing. She often reproached her, sounded tired, listless. This was not the mother she knew. This was not her mother.

"Not much. I was going to go to the market this morning, but by the time I was ready to leave, the market was closed. I will go next week. “

Raquel didn't know what to feel, but it broke her heart to see her mother like this. Slowly, she began to regret her decision to go to college.

"Raquel?"

"Yes."

"You're so quiet, is everything okay?"

"Yes. " Sighed Raquel "I'm– I’m just tired, that's all." 

"Then go to bed. Lie down and rest." She heard her mother speak lovingly on the other side of the phone and her voice began to tremble.

"Okay. You should sleep, too. It's getting late."

"I'm going to lie down." Promised her mother.

"Okay, see you Tuesday. Good night. “

"Good night."

After hanging up, Raquel held a hand over her mouth and tried to hold back tears. She squeezed her eyes shut and fell into deep sobs and just wanted to leave. She wiped her tears and hurried back to Sergio, who was still sitting at the table laughing with Vero. 

"Sergio, let's go."

He was about to get up and follow her until Vero interfered.

"Do you always do what she tells you?"

"What?" Sergio never looked more startled.

"Well Raquel. You're not her lapdog."

Still completely shocked by what she claimed, he was at a loss for words.

"Sergio! We're leaving. Please."

Yes, we're leaving, he thought, and was ready to get up again.

"Raquel, I think he can speak for himself." looked Vero at her with deep looks "So, do you really want to go?"

Sergio was completely overwhelmed with the situation. On one side stood Raquel, who wanted to leave, and on the other side sat a person he had known for just half an hour and who looked at Raquel provocatively. He looked up at Raquel, who just raised her eyebrows, and back at Vero, who lightly touched his arm. It was too much for him. The physical contact, that she was snapping at Raquel, that Raquel was obviously upset about something.

"So...um..." He was about to gather his thoughts and go along with Raquel until she cut him off.

"You know what, stay here."

"But I thought we were leaving?"

"No, stay here, talk to Vero. I don't want to go yet."

He looked at her completely horrified and only now noticed how red her eyes were.

"Raquel, wait." He held her by the arm, but she pulled back.

"No, it's all good. Have your fun here and I'll have mine."

Depressed, Sergio sat back down on the chair and watched her walk back towards the dance floor. But he straightened up again when he saw that she went over to the drinks and took a shot. Then another and another. She drank them all at once and joined Ágata and Monica again.

"Wow, is she really mad now because you don't listen to her?" interjected Vero, but Sergio didn’t answer.

Sergio kept his eyes on Raquel all the time, while Vero kept trying to build up conversations, but he only gave short answers. Sometimes, when Raquel danced, he answered in directed sentences. Vero made herself very unpopular with him the way she talked about Raquel, but he still wanted to remain polite.

————————————

On the dance floor, Raquel kept seeing Sergio talking to Vero. And it hurted her. She didn't even know why she felt that way, but she did. Actually, he was just coming to watch over her. He wanted to be there for her. And now, when she really needed him, he wasn't. Even though she was in a group, she felt alone. Ágata was the first to notice Raquel's hurt looks toward Sergio and Vero.

"Raquel, are you okay?"

She hesitated briefly, then nodded disgustedly in Vero's direction.

"What did this bitch do. I'll hit her if she gives you any trouble!"

Ágata's hands clenched into fists again.

"No, it's all good. Really." Raquel tried to calm Ágata down again "come on, let's play beer pong."

————————————

"He no longer had any sense of shame in front of anyone. Can you imagine?" Vero laughed about her story, but Sergio stopped listening. He just saw Raquel stand at the edge of the table and start throwing the ball.

"Excuse me a minute." he stood up and walked over to Raquel. 

"Hey, you promised you wouldn't drink." he approached her ear.

"And you didn't want to leave me alone. You promised you'd take care of me!" she snapped back, already a bit miffed.

He could only look at her, stunned. 

"Don't drink too much, Raquel."

"Oh, now you want to take care of me?"

"I've been looking out for you all along."

"Yes, of course you do." she waved him away sarcastically and threw the ball.

He didn't know what was going on with her all of a sudden, so he sat back down in his seat and watched her. He didn't like the fact that she drank so much, but to his relief she won the game and didn't have to drink all the cups.  
Vero was still sitting next to him and slowly she started to annoy him. Of course, she had overheard the scene with Raquel and had to comment on it.

"Is she always like that?"

Sergio looked at her indignantly.

"So I don't mean she's mean or anything. But is everything always about her? Are you always chasing after her?"

She not only annoyed him, she made him angry.

"Please don't take this the wrong way, but you deserve friends who do things with you. It seems like you're just babysitting her."

That's enough.

"You're right, I'm only here because I'm looking out for her. Because I promised her I'd take care of her." 

"See? You're not having fun, you're letting her contain you."

"It's not much more amusing with you." he blurted out.

She could only look at him. 

"Then why don't you just go?"

"You came to me. I didn't ask you to sit down!"

He could no longer control himself. Nobody talks about Raquel like that in his presence.

"Wow, okay." was all that came from her as she was about to stand up.

"Have you seen Raquel?"

"What?"

"Raquel? She's not here anymore!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading our story. That really means a lot to us! <3


	4. icy breeze

He let himself be distracted once. Only once he didn't pay attention. And now he no longer saw her.

"First you send me away and now you want me to help you? But no, I haven't seen her."

Without answering, he got up and ran to Ágata, Silene and Monica.

"Have you seen Raquel?"

"No, why?" replied Silene.

"I can't find her anymore."

"We'll let you know if we see her."

Sergio squeezed through crowds of people and searched the whole room for her. He hated himself so much right now. What if she wasn't feeling well and left? What if she got hurt? What if someone else hurt her? He didn't want to imagine all the scenarios and yet they all appeared in his mind. As he walked through the last door and came into a quieter room with only a few people in it, he saw Raquel sitting on a table while kissing a man. She wrapped her beautiful, elegant legs around his hips and her hands tangled in his hair. His hand was on her thigh, slowly moving under her short skirt. He kissed her neck, leaving red marks on every place his lips touched. Her eyes were closed while she opened her lips slightly and her soft moans filled Sergio's ears.

Sergio stood in the doorway and just looked at her. He felt like something was breaking inside him. He didn't even know why, but it tore him up inside to see her in someone else's arms. To know that he had her soft lips on his. To be able to touch her wonderful, soft skin and inhale her unique beautiful, flowery scent.

His shoulders slumped and his arms hung limply to the left and right of his body. It felt like everything was going in slow motion. As if he had been looking at her for hours and every second the knife stabbed deeper into his chest.

He couldn't even recognize the guy. Was he nice? Would he treat her well? Would he be all hers? Or would it be someone else in a miniskirt at the next party?

_At least she's okay,_ he kept telling himself. _At least nothing happened to her._

But was she okay? Did she feel well?

As he ran his fingers over Raquel's back and waist, she giggled a little.

_Yes, she is fine. This is the most important thing._

He swallowed, turned around and left the party completely defeated.

Deep inside, he wanted to scream. He wanted to scream all the disappointment from his soul. He wanted to scream at her. He wanted to scream at every God damned person on this earth. But he couldn't. The words faltered in his throat. In his room, he grabbed a clean shirt and a towel and ran to the farthest stall in the communal shower.

* * *

_[_ _Raquel]_

He kissed her lips, her skin, her neck. Every spot tingled with ecstasy. Every red-blue mark he left felt good. It felt like pure life on her skin.

_[Sergio]_

He turned the water on very cold. The small drops

left shivers and tingles on his skin

while a deep coldness surrounded him from the inside

outside.

_[Raquel]_

The feeling of his fingers grazing her hip was indescribable. Each of his touches left goosebumps until a shiver ran down her spine and she began to tremble with pleasure in his arms.

_[Sergio]_

He felt it for the first time. The feeling of being alive. He felt the cold seeping through him. How he

lost control of himself. He stood shivering

under the cold water, and yet he loved this new

feeling of cold.

_[Raquel]_

Her body wanted more. She wanted more. It felt so good. It felt perfect. Perfect to turn her tears into a smile.

_[Sergio]_

The jets of water pelted his face while he tried to wipe off the makeup with his hand. Roughly he rubbed his cheeks, so that it almost hurt. But he didn't care. He just wanted to get it off. He wanted to forget this evening. Actually, he wanted to be mad, but she had only broken her promise because he got distracted. He should have been there. He should have been looking out for her.

After his face was clean and his cheeks red from scrubbing, he turned off the water and grabbed his towel. He was about to start getting dressed when he heard someone stagger into the shower room.

" Raquel?" he asked, watching the little person stagger drunkenly from wall to wall. Just before she could fall down, Sergio came to her and held her by her waist.

"Oh God." muttered Raquel "Oh no."

"Raquel, are you okay?"

"Yes, yes. I'm fine. I just feel a little sick."

She looked up at him, noticing his strong arms around her waist and his firm hands holding her gently but securely. Her gaze continued to wander downward and wow, she didn't think this suit guy had such a good figure. While she had her mouth open, Sergio's thoughts were elsewhere. He saw her red eyes and mascara smeared edges. Under her chin he saw another small, almost dried tear hanging and wiped it carefully. As much as he was hurt, his heart bled for her.

"Raquel? Are you sure you're okay?"

But before she could answer, she started to vomit. He had almost managed to get her to the sink, but her vomit hit her top. With both hands she held on to the sink. Her knees started to shake, but Sergio was behind here. One hand around her stomach, the other holding her hair back. When he felt she was still trembling, he began to gently caress her belly with his thumb.

"Hey, everything's fine. You' ll feel better soon," he whispered to her.

When she was done and had rinsed her mouth out as best she could, she turned to face him.

"What are you doing here?"

"Um... i took a shower." only now he realized he was only wearing a towel.

"Where's Vero?"

"Why should I care about her?"

"I'm just surprised you're not in bed with her."

He looked at her completely confused.

"What? No!"

"Oh come on, don't pretend you don't think she's hot!"

"Raquel, you're drunk. You're not thinking straight."

"Oh yes I am. I've never thought as clearly as I did today!" she snapped back.

He looked at her standing there. Her arms crossed, her chin lifted defiantly. Her eyes still red underneath. It hurt him. Not because she was scolding him, but because she thought he preferred Vero to her. He didn't even remember her name until Raquel mentioned it. How could she think such a thing? And not only that, but the fact that she had been so looking forward to the party and was now standing in front of him in tears. If he could, he would take away her pain right now.

"Where is your boyfriend?" he asked.

She looked at him in confusion.

"What boyfriend?"

"The guy you were...making out with on the table."

"Oh. He's not my boyfriend." something changed in her gaze. "I don't even know his name."

She looked down at the floor now and clenched her folded arms even tighter around her stomach.

"Raquel, are you all right?"

She just nodded.

Silently they stood there. He in a towel and she in a shirt covered with vomit.

" Come on. You can't go through the whole school like this. I'll give you one of my shirts."

She just looked at him.

"Um...so...could you maybe...?" he pointed to the door.

"Oh, of course."

But instead of her walking out, to his astonishment, she stopped and just turned around. He blushed. He blushed so much. He couldn't ask her again after all. What if that would hurt her? Would that even be polite to ask her to leave the shower again? No, he didn't want to be rude to her. So he gathered his courage, turned around uncomfortably, dropped the towel and changed clothes.

When Raquel heard the towel fall, she couldn't help herself. She turned around briefly and her eyes fell right on Sergio's butt. He was bending over, putting on his boxers, but when he straightened up again she couldn't take her eyes off his back. Wow, she thought. She wouldn't have expected to find such a beautiful body under those professor shirts.

Finally, they both went to his room together and he gave her a fresh shirt. Everything in his room was neatly sorted. From his books to his clothes, everything was in order. She was amazed at this level of order, but on the other hand, she hadn't expected anything else from Sergio.

"Thanks, for the shirt." She just mumbled as she stood in front of his door again in his shirt and gave him a half smile.

"No problem." he paused "I don't know what happened, if it's this guy or something else, but if you want to talk and need someone to listen, I'm always here for you."

Tears formed in her eyes again. She looked around and they both noticed the many other students from the party walking across the hall. He understood immediately.

"Come on."

Silently, she followed him through the halls.

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see."

They walked through some doors and hallways, went up some stairs, until they finally stood in front of a gray metal door.

"Are you sure we're allowed to be here?"

He didn't answer and only opened the door. A cool breeze passed through her hair and made it blow back slightly. She looked at Sergio, who held the door open for her.

" Go ahead."

She walked past him and felt as if she could fly. The cool wind swept around her, but she didn't mind. She had never noticed it before, but in the back of the school there was a flat roof. And on this roof she stood, walking towards the precipice and letting her gaze wander over the whole city.

"It's beautiful here." her eyes lit up as she saw the many, warm lights of the city. Slowly, she walked closer to the edge until she was standing right on the edge. A warm hand suddenly grabbed her arm and pulled her back slightly. The perfect contrast between warm and cold made goosebumps run over every inch of her skin.

"Raquel, watch out. Don't get too close to the edge."

Slowly, she took a few steps back and turned to Sergio.

"How did you find this?"

"We had open house and there were so many people everywhere. I was just looking for a quiet place to read." he shrugged and pointed behind them to a folded blanket on the floor. He spread the blanket on the floor and sat down against a wall along with her.

Should he say something? Should he start a conversation? No. He wanted to let her make the first move. He wanted her to decide when and what she wanted to talk about.

"Isn't that incredible?" she began.

"What?"

"How big the world is. Just how big Madrid is. And Madrid is so small compared to other things. Even the universe" she looked up at the stars "every single star looks so small, but is so much bigger than us. Somehow I feel even smaller now."

He saw her laugh a little as he averted his gaze from the sky and looked at Raquel.

"And yet, this is where the biggest things happen."

"Bigger than the sun?"

"Other big things. We are so many people. You just have to imagine that in every apartment, in every house you pass, there is a life. Memories, feelings, laughter, tears. Everything."

"I never thought about that before." she looked off into the distance again to the tiny houses of Madrid.

"But it is so unbelievable what all happens at the same time. In one apartment, a woman just found out she's pregnant and can hardly believe her luck. And in the apartment across the hall, a man learns that his wife has died in an accident."

"Isn't that sad?"

"The one with the man?"

"No, I mean that in every happy moment, somewhere in the world someone has cried."

"But if you don't know, it's not really happening."

"But it's happening somewhere."

"Not for you. For you, it doesn't happen until you know."

She looked at him questioningly.

"For example, one person dies every 24 seconds from a traffic accident."

"That often?"

"Yes. But it never has and never will bother you because you don't know these people. You don't get it. And that's why it doesn't happen for you. And that's the point that I find so incredible. For one person it feels like it's the best day, while for another person the whole world is just falling apart."

"Or it's just two people sitting on a rooftop talking about random strangers," she joked, trying to lighten the mood a bit.

He couldn't help but chuckle a little. No matter what he thought about, she could always make him smile. But his smile disappeared when he looked at her again and saw her smile fade into a depressed expression.

I am here for you, he wanted to say. Talk to me, I like to listen to you, he thought firmly. But all that came out of his mouth was a crooked smile. She looked into his eyes and she understood. She understood what he was trying to tell her. Was this a coincidence? Was he misinterpreting her face, he wondered. But he was not wrong.

"Sergio, can I ask you something? " she looked back and forth between the floor and him.

"Always."

"Do you think people can just change?" she looked him in the eye now and spoke in a shaky voice.

He looked at her seriously. He didn't know where it came from or what happened. But he strongly assumed that it had something to do with the phone call after the whole evening went down the drain.

"Um...So I think in a way it does. The company shapes the person, but what exactly do you mean by "change"?"

"I mean, whether a kind, warm and incredibly nice person can change into someone who only reproaches you, is rarely satisfied and often overwhelmed." Small tears formed in her eyes, but Raquel tried with all her might to suppress them.

"No, I don't think so. I think the person you are talking about has something else that is bothering him or her. And it's so much that he or she loses sight of reality and everything is just black and white. I mean, I'm not a doctor, but a drastic change like that sounds more like burnout or too much stress to me.“

Stress. Too much stress. That must be it. A small feeling of relief came over her even if she had more or less only convinced herself of it. And yet, at the same moment, worry overcame her again. She works too much, she determinedly stated. But Raquel was doing everything she could to help her mother, and yet she felt as if she had failed miserably. She looked away from him and silent tears ran down her cheek.

He was overwhelmed. He was so overwhelmed. He wanted to help her so much, but couldn't handle the situation. Crying women always made him nervous. How should he act? Would a hug be appropriate? Or did she prefer to be alone? Was he interfering?

Carefully he put a hand on her arm and immediately she reflexively grabbed his hand. It was as if she were drowning and he was her life preserver, to which she clung. Early on she had noticed that his eyes spoke more than his voice ever could. And at that moment, he proved it to her again. The look he gave her, so gentle and empathetic, made her completely forget her discomfort at crying in front of him. He made her feel safe. That it was okay not to be okay.

He was silent, not knowing what to say. Or if he should say anything at all. So he just sat quietly next to her and held her hand as long as she wanted.

"It's my mother." She suddenly blurted out in a small whisper.

"What?"

"My mother. The person I was talking about. It's my mother."

His eyebrows shot up. He had not expected that.

"Raquel, I'm so sorry." He said emphatically.

"She often reproaches me. That I'm not there often enough, that I don't help enough, that I do things wrong. It's like I always have to be the guilty one with her. And I accept that. I don't know what happened, but she's not herself anymore. She calls in sick at work a lot, doesn't feel like doing anything. Nothing. And I don't know how to help her. I do and do everything, but it's never enough."

His heart bled for her. He didn't know what he could say or do to show her how much he admired her.

"Raquel, I'm so incredibly sorry about that. Umm...I'll be honest. I don't quite know what to say to that or how to respond. But what I do know is that you are incredibly strong. I can't imagine what a mental as well as physical strain that must be. And yet here you are at a college, accomplishing your goals and take care of your mother as best as you can. Your mother doesn't even know how lucky she is to have you as a daughter. I don't know...so...um...if you ever need help in any way, with whatever, let me know. I'd be happy to help you. So if you want of course. I also don't want to just invade your personal life and-"

"Thank you." She looked at him with wet cheeks. Quietly, she wiped away her tears. He kept silent, nodding slightly, and her eyes shone with pure gratitude. After a few minutes of complete silence, he finally had to ask that question. He needed to know if anything happened to her after he left the party.

"So the guy... from earlier. So I know that's none of my business at all. But was it just like that? Or was that something real?" it took all the effort in the world, but he knew he wouldn't have been able to sleep if he didn't know the answer.

"Oh, God, no. I don't even know his name. I think something with S. " she began to guess and stuttered a few isolated syllables.

"Suarez? Something tightened inside her, but he noticed immediately "Raquel, did he hurt you?"

"No, no. It's all good."

He looked at her worriedly and suspiciously.

"Really. Well, I mean-"

"What?" asked Sergio more directly. Just the thought that someone was treating her badly made him angry.

"He-" she broke off, collecting herself for a moment "He wanted more."

She looked at the floor and didn't know how to feel. It was a mixture of shame and disgust that swept over her and made her feel deeply uncomfortable.

"Oh." he suddenly froze.

"So, he started hitting on me and I felt good about it. I wanted some kind of confirmation after my mom called me. Any kind. And he looked good, hit on me, I thought 'Hey, this is just what you need. Someone who thinks you're good.' At first I let it happen, but it felt wrong. I didn't want someone who thought I was hot. I just wanted someone to hug me and tell me everything was going to be okay." Sobbed she "And when I pushed him away, he was pissed and said I was just a "cheap slut." "A little fuck on the side" " a little tear rolled down her cheek again as she looked at him.

"What am I doing wrong?" her voice trembled "Why does chaos follow me everywhere? No matter where I am."

"Raquel, you're not doing anything wrong." He said with deep determination and put his hand on her shoulder."Don't even think about the fact that you are the fault. It's not your fault. None of it is. It's not your fault that your mother is having these problems right now, and it's even less your fault that a man won't take a no for an answer.“

He looked at her, not sure what to feel. She looked so hurt and fragile. He wanted to hug her, to tell her that she was much more than "a little fuck on the side". But on the other hand, he also felt a deep anger. How could anyone treat someone like her this way? How could they not see what a wonderful person she was? How she made every shadow shine?

His jaw tightened at the idea of how humiliated she must feel. This anger in him was new. He was never out for revenge, but if his mind would suspend for just a little moment, his fists would be pointed directly at Suarez's face.

"Did he hurt you?" he asked again.

"No, don't worry. I'm fine." She gave him a wry smile and stroked his arm.

Her touch made him soften for a moment, until he realized again why she was touching him at all. She sensed that he was angry. And also she knew he was not good with words. He didn't know how to react, what to say. But she knew that something was starting to bubble up inside him. That he was getting angry because someone was treating her badly. And she appreciated that. More than anything else right now.

"Really. It's all good." She stroked his arm again and felt him relax a little against her touch.

" If he treats you like that again, please let me know, okay??"

"Okay. "

A spark of relief spread in his eyes and gradually he relaxed beside her.

After a while, the silence settled and they talked and talked and talked. It was one of those nights that felt like forever. As if the whole world was spinning just for them.

"Is it possible that you get tired?" he teased her.

"What?! No! I'm a Murillo. Murillos don't need sleep."

"Sure." He laughed " but shouldn't we go back? It's getting pretty late."

She hesitated for a moment.

"Can we maybe stay here for a little while longer?" she asked in a calm and almost pleading voice.

"Of course." He looked deep into her eyes. A cold breeze flitted past them, leaving her shivering and covered in goose bumps.

"Here." He took off his jacket and put it on her "So you won't freeze."

She just smiled at him. The air around him could have turned to ice, but he wouldn't get cold. Not as long as she smiled at him like that.

"Thank you." She breathed and slowly let herself fall back against his shoulder.

"Not for this." His heart began to beat again. Should he put an arm around her? Did she even want that? No, she could never want something like that after some asshole had treated her so disgustingly. She would never want him to touch her now.

And so he kept his hands to himself. He didn't want her to feel uncomfortable. She could decide what she wanted and when. And he would be there when she needed a supportive arm around her.

"Raquel, you're right." He looked up at the stars "The stars are big."

He turned his head to her and there she lay. Asleep, her head propped up on his shoulder. He stayed a little longer, always looking back and forth between her and the stars, finally getting up and try to wake her up. But the alcohol left her sound asleep. So he put his arm around her knees and back and lifted her up.

He was lucky. Monica was not in the room. Gently, he carried Raquel to her bed and tucked her in.

"Good night." Were the last words he whispered before quietly closing the door behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey :)  
> This was chapter 4. We really hope you like our story. If you have any criticism or anything to say about our story, please let us know in the comments <3  
> Next chapter will be out this weekend or next week.  
> Stay safe <3


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